Vacation Bible students at St. Andrew's Cathedral learn about good vs. evil

The students enter a world of snow, twinkling evergreens and sparkling icicles under a darkened sky. What they are entering is a decorated classroom to learn about good vs. evil.

"Whoa! Whoa!" whispered Nathan Selner, 6, as he checked out the wintery world of Narnia, re-created from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Vacation Bible students at St. Andrew's Cathedral this week got to rejoice with the Lion, run circles around the White Witch, and go ice skating while learning more about Christian values and life lessons.

The idea behind the dramatizations and role-playing was to give students the chance to ponder the deeper meaning behind the classic children's story and discover things for themselves, says Jenny Wallace, vacation Bible teacher at St. Andrew's for the past 20 years.

"Anything that gets them to enter into the mystery of the story will help them grow spiritually, and become open to the spirit within us," which is what C.S. Lewis had hoped to do through his stories, Wallace said. ("Lion" was the first installment in "The Chronicles of Narnia" to be made into a movie, released several months ago.)

"We don't come out and tell them that Aslan (the Lion) represents Jesus, but we ask, 'Does this story remind you of something?'" she said.

Wallace uses the Montessori teaching method of showing rather than telling, posing questions like, "How would you feel if this happened to you?" or "What would you do?" Issues that came up in the story included not being believed, betraying your friends, having someone control your life and forgiving someone for his mistake.

Noelani Kohner, who plays the White Witch, was just 4 when Wallace first held a vacation Bible study based on the Narnia story 20 years ago. She remembers walking into the wintery fantasy world and saying, "It's freezing in here," to Wallace, who told her it was 102 degrees in the room (they had no air conditioning then).

"When I was little, they were able to simplify it so I could understand it. The crucial thing I remembered at the time was I would never betray my brothers and sisters (as Edmund did) for some sweets" to the White Witch, even though Kohner often got mad at her older brother for bossing her around. Edmund also resented his siblings for treating him badly, so Kohner could understand his feelings, she said.

But when Edmund is wounded, it made Kohner think of what it would be like if her brother died. She went up to her brother, who also attended the Bible study, and gave him a big hug, saying "I don't want you to die."

"That's why I like Narnia: It's not straight-out religious. It gives you choices and shows you the consequences. It gives you a chance to find out for yourself," Kohner said. They learned that "what goes around, comes around," she added.

The week's activities were "amazing!" said Lea Luckhaus, 10. "This place is fantastic, to go from winter to spring" from one day to the next, referring to the set changes. "It was really fun!" she said of the crafts activities and playing freeze-tag with the White Witch. But the heavier lessons like sacrificing oneself for the good of others really made an impression, too, she said.

Hulali Alford, 9, said "this was the funnest one" of all the Bible studies she has attended at the cathedral because they got to interact with all the characters in the book and go on field trips to the bamboo forest and ice palace. She learned that "we always can make mistakes, but we can learn from them. And you have to make sacrifices, give things up that are very dear to us."

Kohner explained that Aslan sacrifices his life to save Edmund from being killed, and for the good of all Narnia. But because it was done willingly out of love, "a deeper magic" goes into effect, and Aslan's death is reversed. Aslan then breathes life back into all who were frozen by the witch, and puts her to death, thereby ending an era of imperialism in which it was "always winter with never any Christmas," she said.

The Rev. Tim Sexton, who played the lion, declared: "We have been saved! ... There is a deeper magic that resides within each one of you ... if each one of you willingly sacrifices your life for the good of others around you." He then prayed over each child.